The "Ask" and "Imagine" phases of the Engineering Design Process can be broken down into three smaller areas: identify, research, and develop. Each of these parts of the process come with their own tasks to complete in order to move to the next phase of the process.
Identify
When you are identifying in the Engineering Design Process, you are identifying the need to solve a problem and clearly defining the problem.
When you are identifying in the Writing Process, you are more or less choosing or identifying your paper topic. This topic may be pre-determined by your teacher, writing assignment, and so forth, but you, as the writer may have to choose your own. Several more things to consider during this portion of the process include:
Who's going to read this? (Who is your audience?)
What do they already know? (What information do they already know about your topic?)
What do they need to know? (What information do they need to know about your topic?)
What degree of formality is expected? (Informal, everyday language or Standard English?)
What genre or type of writing is this going to be? (A letter? A poem? Research Paper? Argument Paper?)
Research
When you are researching for the Engineering Design Process, you are researching the problem, gathering all the necessary knowledge to fix that problem, and starting to look into possible solutions for that problem.
If your paper needs to be supported by research, this is where you would begin to locate sources of information and pull together knowledge on your paper topic. If your writing does not require sources, you will still want to write down what you know about your topic currently to help you in planning later.
Develop
When you are developing in the Engineering Design Process, you are developing the solution to your identified problem. You are coming up with a possible idea that you are wanting to take further into brainstorming and creation.
In the developing stage of the Writing Process, you are coming up with your thesis- or stance- on your topic. For more information on developing a thesis, go here.
Identify
When you are identifying in the Engineering Design Process, you are identifying the need to solve a problem and clearly defining the problem.
When you are identifying in the Writing Process, you are more or less choosing or identifying your paper topic. This topic may be pre-determined by your teacher, writing assignment, and so forth, but you, as the writer may have to choose your own. Several more things to consider during this portion of the process include:
Research
When you are researching for the Engineering Design Process, you are researching the problem, gathering all the necessary knowledge to fix that problem, and starting to look into possible solutions for that problem.
If your paper needs to be supported by research, this is where you would begin to locate sources of information and pull together knowledge on your paper topic. If your writing does not require sources, you will still want to write down what you know about your topic currently to help you in planning later.
Develop
When you are developing in the Engineering Design Process, you are developing the solution to your identified problem. You are coming up with a possible idea that you are wanting to take further into brainstorming and creation.
In the developing stage of the Writing Process, you are coming up with your thesis- or stance- on your topic. For more information on developing a thesis, go here.